Greek supporters celebrate at the end of Euro 2012 championships football match between Greece and Russia in front of their parliament in central Athens on June 16, 2012. A night before the election day Greek football team won 1-0 against Russia team.
Yves Herman / Reuters
A banner featuring a Euro coin is seen on the European Commission headquarters building in Brussels Nov. 20, 2012
Tony Gentile / Reuters
Euro coins are seen in this photo illustration taken in Rome, December 9, 2011.
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
A Euro sign is seen in the window of a discount store on Moore Street in Dublin July 6, 2011.
Yiorgos Karahalis / Reuters
A one Euro coin is squeezed by a pair of grips in this photo illustration taken in Athens, Greece, Oct. 20, 2011.
Ognen Teofilovski / Reuters
An illustration picture shows a one Euro coin being melted by a smith in Skopje, December 6, 2011
Hannelore Foerster / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Pedestrians pass in front of a Euro sign sculpture outside of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011.
Stoyan Nenov / Reuters
Fake Euro notes seized in Sofia during a special police operation.
Anthony Suau for TIME
Traders on the open outcry Euro/Dollar pit of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty Images
Italian forward Mario Balotelli celebrates after scoring the second goal during the Euro 2012 football championships semi-final match Germany vs Italy on June 28, 2012 at the National Stadium in Warsaw.
Yiorgos Karahalis / Reuters
A Greek five-cent euro coin depicting a tanker is seen amongst other coins in Athens February 15, 2012.
Tony Gentile / Reuters
The map of Europe is featured on the face of a two Euro coin seen in this photo illustration taken in Rome, December 3, 2011.
Thierry Roge / Reuters
A machine counts and sorts out euro notes at the Belgian Central Bank in Brussels, October 26, 2011.
Pichi Chuang / Reuters
An employee checks a euro note at the Bank of Taiwan head office in Taipei on May 10, 2010
Michael Probst / AP
The euro continues its relentless climb against the dollar, reaching a record high.
Leon Neal / AFP / Getty
A handful of euro notes
David Jones / PA / AP
European officials have asked the public to vote on the design of a new two Euro coin.
Luca Bruno / AP
A man looks at job adds in the window of an employment office in Milan, Italy, Monday, April 2, 2012. Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999.
Ralph Orlowski / Reuters
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks during the Economy Day 2012 in Frankfurt Nov. 7, 2012. The European Central Bank's new bond-buying programme allows for unlimited interventions in sovereign debt markets and should dispel concerns about a euro zone break-up, Draghi said on Wednesday.
Lefteris Pitarakis / AP
London's financial district on May 25, 2010. World stock markets and the euro have tumbled on fears that Europe's debt crisis will cause a prolonged economic slump
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
A photo taken in Warsaw on January 18 shows a one-euro coin
MICHEL EULER/AP
SHOP, OR ELSE... With businesses reluctant to invest, the euro zone needs shoppers to keep on spending to avoid recession
Andrew Medichini / AP
The Italian technocracy Monti has barely a political base, but he can cajole the entrenched elite eith euro-zone anxieties
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks during the Economy Day 2012 in Frankfurt November 7, 2012. The European Central Bank's new bond-buying programme allows for unlimited interventions in sovereign debt markets and should dispel concerns about a euro zone break-up, Draghi said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski (GERMANY - Tags: BUSINESS)
Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
New Democracy's leader Antonis Samaras leaves the conservative party's main election kiosk in Athens on June 17, 2012. Samaras, who claimed victory in the Sunday national elections, said Greeks had voted to stay in the euro zone
Dmitry Astakhov / AFP / Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, shake hands during a bilateral meeting held days before the summit with the Euro-Atlantic defense alliance
Eight European nations are left to battle it out for the right to be crowned the champions of the continent. TIME takes a look back at the early highlights